Why Does a Gas in a Closed Container Exert Pressure?
Kinetic Theory of Matter Gas pressure is the result of the collisions of gas molecules with a surface. In the case of a closed container, that surface is the walls of the container. A fundamental assumption of the kinetic theory of matter is that the molecules of all substances are constantly in motion. In a solid, the motion is vibratory; the molecules are locked into position relative to one another, but they vibrate back and forth in that position. In liquids, the molecules are able to change relative positions, but they are still strongly attracted to each other, so the distances they can move are short. jQuery(document).ready(function(){ jQuery(‘#jsArticleStep1 span.image a:first’).attr(‘href’,’http://i.ehow.com/images/a05/0d/re/gas-closed-container-exert-pressure-2.1-800X800.jpg’); }); In gases, however, there is no appreciable attraction between molecules. They are relatively far apart, and travel great distances before colliding either with another molecule or with the walls of